Adversity Brought The Best Out Of The Lakers This Year
The Los Angeles Lakers finally nailed their 15th NBA championship following their masterful 99-86 victory against the Orlando Magic to clinch the Finals series, 4-1 before a silent Amway Arena crowd just today.
For Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, there is definitely no "I" in the team.
And there are so many lessons we can derive from the Lakers chase for the championship.
Beaten up badly by Boston (39 points in Game 6) last season in the Finals, Los Angeles, led by this year’s Finals MVP Kobe Bryant, believed that had to be the turning point of their 2009 campaign as they vowed to win it all this year.
And the Lakers didn’t disappoint.
Several players were criticized for their performance in last year’s Finals.
Pau Gasol was labeled as “too soft” for a frontline man of LA. Lamar Odom, the subject of numerous trade talks in the past, has had his own struggles offensively and defensively, while Derek Fisher was said to be “aging fast that his three-point shooting wouldn’t drop anymore”.
But the seven-foot Gasol worked hard after that Finals debacle in 2008, upping his inside game, rebounding and defense several notches, more. Odom, meantime, learned to come out strong off the bench throughout this season to provide the energy LA needed.
Fisher, on the other hand, reserved his best game of the season with his heroic effort in Game 4, nailing a game-tying triple to send the game into overtime. Before hitting the go-ahead three-point shot in the extra five-minute session to cement his place among the NBA clutch shooters, while pushing LA to a 3-1 series lead.
And of course, Kobe Bryant has the biggest smile among these Laker players.
Long dismissed to be just a good player following the disintegration of his partnership with All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal at the end of the 2004 Finals defeat against Detroit, Bryant worked his way back to the top.
He sure, had his down moments during the post-O’Neal era of the Lakers.
But LA coach Phil Jackson gave a “capsulized” description of the Lakers 2009 edition.
“This (Laker) team is a learned team. They have learned from last year’s Finals (against the Celtics),” said Jackson, who is now the winningest coach with 10 NBA titles, surpassing Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach’s achievement.
And here’s O’Neal’s twitter message to Kobe.
“When you’re together, you can withstand adversity. Congratualtions Kobe, u deserve it. You played great. Enjoy it my man enjoy it.
The Laker land ain’t a Kobe show anymore because Bryant spells Los Angeles as TEAM.
Admiring Stan Van Gundy's NBA Finals Approach
Unintimidated though Orlando is facing a platoon of veterans in the Lakers, not to mention his one-on-one coaching duel with multi-titled NBA coach Phil Jackson
I admire Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy’s approach to the NBA Finals.
As I watch him answer questions fielded in by the NBA press in the aftermath of the Magic’s stinging 91-99 overtime defeat that gave Los Angeles a commanding 3-1 series lead, Van Gundy said he doesn’t believe at all in championship experience coming to play for the Lakers.
As a former sports writer, sports slants (on articles) like an experienced team going up against a young, inexperienced one sells (which is what’s happening now in the ongoing NBA Finals) sells.
But Van Gundy was quick to point out that basketball is a game of five players. The game boils down to execution. It boils down to making the right plays and having the proper frame of mind.
Which is why, even though Orlando is the clear underdog talent-wise when matched up against Los Angeles, the Magic play like they’ve been to the Finals every year.
The intensity, the youthful zest, the impeccable shooting in the face of a tough Lakers defense (just take a look against at their Game 3 performance of 63 percent shooting)—all these were extracted by Van Gundy because his basic approach in the Finals is, we can match up against LA.
The biggest difference in the Magic’s Game 4 loss was their inability to hit their free throws (22-of-37 overall), their poor defense during regulation and eventually in the extra five-minute session—all of which cost them the game, and perhaps, the NBA title (should LA win Game 5).
Now, down 1-3, Van Gundy and his rather confused Magic are staring at a deficit that no team in so many years, have ever been able to overcome.
Though history is completely against the Magic at this point, I’m sure Van Gundy will do everything he can to prepare his players mentally and emotionally as they battle it out against the Lakers in Game 5 on Sunday (Monday morning in Manila).
Whatever happens to this Finals series, Van Gundy and his Magic are sure to benefit in the long run because of the battle scars they’ve gained.
And so Boston and Cleveland, better watch out because Orlando will be a dominant squad, a “beast in the East” in the years to come.
Lakers Better Close It In Orlando, Florida Or Else…
Two down at home, two more on the road and the LA Lakers’ journey for their first NBA title in the post-Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant tandem will soon be complete.
Though Pau Gasol is not as strong and as quick as O’Neal in the middle, the seven-foot Spanish center-forward has proven his effectiveness in playing a great support role to Kobe on offense.
After scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in LA’s 100-75 Game 1 rout over Orlando, Gasol finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Game 2, which saw the Lakers escape with a 101-96 overtime win.
Kobe had a “quiet” 29 points after exploding for 40 in the Finals opener.
But Kobe downplayed LA’s 2-0 series lead, saying they haven’t achieved anything yet.
Going into Games 3-5 which will all be played at the Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida, the Lakers need to beat the Magic two of three games there to wrap up their 15th NBA title in 30 championship appearances.
But the visit to the Amway Arena won’t be easy. Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers knew how difficult it is to play there, having lost three straight games there that cost them the Eastern Conference title.
But history is on the side of LA.
Since the NBA adopted the 2-3-2 format in 1985, 11 of 12 teams winning the first two games went on to win the championship.
The only team that failed to win the NBA title after starting off 2-0, was Dallas, which lost the next four games to Miami. The Heat clinched the championship and the series, 4-2.
The Lakers, though just can’t rely on history. They have to continually play with consistency on defense and offense to wrap up the title.
Or the Magic, known for their resilience and ability to bounce back could turn things around, and who knows, Orlando could find itself back in the series.
Kobe Bryant & the Lakers' Unfinished Business
The LA Lakers destroying the Orlando Magic in the Finals series opener was a complete surprise for a lot of people I know.
Who'll hoist the NBA's Larry O'Brien Trophy this year?
I was also surprised with the way the game went easily for the Lakers, who had to go through the wringer against the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets during LA’s road to the NBA Finals.
And against the Magic, the Lakers were supposed to have found an even tougher assignment considering the presence of Orlando’s own “Big Three” version—Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.
But Game 1 was a sleeper of a game, especially as the Magic appeared lost while playing before a Hollywood star-studded crowd at the Staples Center.
The 100-75 LA rout over Orlando was made easy through the explosive plays of Kobe Bryant, who finished the game with 40 points, eight rebounds and the same number of assists in his return trip to the Finals with the Lakers.
Some Kobe critics say should the Lakers go on to win the NBA title this season, this would officially mark his “first” league championship since his “professional breakup” with long-time partner Shaquille O’Neal after the 2004 season.
But even with all those criticism, Kobe and the Lakers have treated the NBA Finals with business-like attitude. Certainly, the 2009 NBA Finals edition gives LA a second opportunity to erase the stigma of its embarrassing championship loss to long-time bitter rival Boston Celtics last year.
That’s why it’s no surprise for Kobe and the Lakers to show what they can really do against a talented Magic squad. With a 1-0 Finals head start, LA is gunning for no less than a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida for Games 3-5.
A 2-0 lead would be commanding at some sense, but for sure, nothing short of an NBA championship is what the Lakers will try to accomplish in the remaining days of the 2009 season.
What Happens When Your Teamwork Works
Six weeks since the 2009 NBA Playoffs kicked off, highlight plays can be viewed in various ways—whether it’s from an uncontested pass-the-ball-through-the-legs-double-pump-reverse dunk from Lebron James, a game-winning three-point shot from Carmelo Anthony, a solid chase-down by Pau Gasol resulting to a solid block or a power-playing move in the post by Dwight Howard.
Passing the ball to an open man is one of the best expressions of teamwork just like this piece of action from Kobe Bryant to Pau Gasol.
Yet, as great as all these individual feats are to watch, nothing compares to a victory achieved by five players, whose main goal isn’t just to showboat but to showcase teamwork at its best.
That, I believe is the main reason why the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic have reached the NBA Finals after three gripping playoff rounds.
Three seasons back, no one would have thought that Kobe Bryant, with all his amazing one-on-one skills and tremendous intensity, could return to the NBA Finals following his basketball “breakup” with superstar center Shaquille O’Neal at the end of the 2004 season.
But after perhaps, learning that there is no “I” in the word TEAM, Kobe Bryant was able to work on another aspect of the game that, during the first 10 years of his NBA career, wasn’t really consistent—passing.
Yes, he does pass to his teammates during his first 10 years, but for most part of those times, he tend to try to win it all for the Lakers in the endgame, especially when O’Neal was no longer around to catch his misses from long-range.
Kobe added glitter to his growing all-around performance during the Lakers’ last two playoff wins against the Denver Nuggets, finishing with an average of nine assists that helped propel LA to the Finals for the second straight year.
On the other hand, the Magic, already glittering with three superstars in Howard, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, knew that to overcome the “beasts in the East” namely the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, they need more than their trio to reach the Finals.
And Orlando did it with its trademark defense and inside and outside offense, turning non-believers and skeptics to believers.
Now, the Magic are back in the Finals for the first time since 1995 when O’Neal and point guard Penny Hardaway were still leading the team.
In real life, we can learn a thing or two from these two great NBA teams—yes, individual talent can be amazing and important, but nothing much can really be achieved apart from teamwork.
Whatever you do, whether you’re a student about to do some group project or group thesis; a professional (doctor, engineer, nurse, etc.); a parent; remember that teamwork yields a better return to your work.
